Effective April 11, 2022, Cibola County Office of the Fire Marshal announced that they are enacting the County’s Ordinance #2019-001, Restricting Open and Controlled burns in the unincorporated areas of Cibola County. The Ordinance, originally passed June 27, 2019, was then approved for an indefinite period due to extreme drought conditions impacting fire conditions in Cibola County. The Ordinance was written so that it could be rescinded or extended as conditions call for. “With the fire danger reaching severe proportions again this year, there is good cause to extend the ordinance now and take proactive measures to help prevent fires,” commented Dustin Middleton, Cibola’s Emergency Manager/Fire Marshal.
Citizens are urged to respect the existing ordinance and do their part to help prevent fires. Currently due to the extremely dry conditions and weather it will only take a spark from a hot cinder, hot coals, hot automobile exhaust, fireworks set off on dry grass or weeds, campfires left burning, or a cigarette not safely extinguished to get a fire going. This Ordinance required citizens to obtain a burn permit for all open fires in the unincorporated areas of Cibola County. If a fire started by someone for the purpose of burn ing weeds, trash, or their field was to get out of control and spread to adjacent private land or public land, the individual who started the fire could be held responsible for the associated cost of fighting the fire.
Under the existing ordinance, the following open fires are prohibited, and burn permits will not be issued: open fires, open burning of vegetation, rubbish, and any other smoke producing substance or material that creates a fire safety hazard. Penalties for violation of this ordinance shall be deemed a misdemeanor and punishable by a fine of not more than three hundred dollars ($300.00) and/or up to 90 days in jail.